NEW DELHI  Intel's Chairman Craig Barrett on Friday sought to promote WiMAX in India, saying the wireless technology could do better than its rivals in addressing the issue of widening digital divide in this country.

Barrett, who is in India to discuss philanthropy and business expansion, said he found government and business leaders receptive to WiMAX and that he hopes policymakers would move to allocate enough spectrum for successful implementation of the technology here.

Like its wireless cousin Wi-Fi, WiMAX delivers high-speed connections without requiring a computer to be tethered to a cable, but offers greater coverage and also costs more money.

It can therefore help establish Internet connectivity in Indian villages, where more than two-thirds of the country's 1 billion-plus people live with poor communication infrastructure.

Policymakers in India, however, are not sure if WiMAX should top their priority while allocating spectrum, especially when the country is struggling to provide enough bandwidth for high-speed broadband connections.

Also Wi-Fi is already in use in the country and costs much less than WiMAX — sometimes it could even come for free.

In fact, Santa Clara, Calif.-based Intel had planned to put WiMAX on trial in several cities starting with Pune in western India, but the launch has been delayed because authorities have yet to resolve the spectrum issue.

Instead, on Thursday, Intel launched its first Indian trial of WiMAX from Baramati, a town near Pune.

Before coming to meet with government and business officials in New Delhi, Barrett traveled to Baramati to see how the new technology works there. He visited a local hospital using the WiMAX network to access the Internet for diagnostic work.

In New Delhi, Barrett said he found Indian officials receptive to adoption of WiMAX.

"It is ideal for rural environment where there is limited infrastructure in place," he said. "WiMAX is your last several miles, or kilometers. Wi-Fi is your last hundred meters."

Barrett said India could be a leader in commercial implementation of WiMAX if the government resolves the issue of spectrum allocation.

Intel is also waiting to see the outcome of India's plans to bring a semiconductor policy that would pave the way for chip manufacturing facilities here.

Intel is spending about $1.1 billion over a five-year period ending 2010 to boost its business in India.

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